Chapter 45 - 31: 500,000 Talismanic Coins!

Chapter 45: Chapter 31: 500,000 Talismanic Coins!

Inside the main hall of Xuanzhen Temple, dusk was falling, yet the space remained brightly lit by the glow of Magical Artifact lamps.

Outside the hall, Mu Xiaoyu was still diligently practicing her fist techniques under the setting sun—actually, so far today, this was the twenty-second time she had thought about slacking off. But it was as if her senior brother inside the hall had eyes that could pierce through walls. Every time she wanted to sneak a little break, a voice would ring in her ears, threatening to confiscate her daily snacks. She had no choice but to grit her teeth and continue her Cultivation, imagining Li Yinsheng’s face with every punch and smashing it over and over again.

Meanwhile, inside the main hall, Li Yinsheng was playing a game with Vice Temple Master Huang. A plain board sat on the table, where black and white pieces were locked in a fierce battle. Li Yinsheng had found this game set inside Vice Temple Master Huang’s Qiankun Bag.

It just so happened that in his past life, he had played Go a few times on the computer. Although he had never formally learned it, he at least understood the rules. Thus, feeling a bit bored while waiting, he invited Vice Temple Master Huang to a match. Then, he discovered that playing the game was actually quite interesting.

Although Vice Temple Master Huang’s Cultivation was lackluster, his Chess Skill was nearly on par with his own. The two of them went back and forth on the board in a deadlocked struggle. Sometimes one would gain the upper hand, and sometimes the other would edge out a slight advantage, making it highly entertaining for Li Yinsheng. This evenly matched battle reminded him somewhat of the joy of playing video games in his past life.

The first game lasted for nearly two hours, ending when Vice Temple Master Huang fell one move short and resigned. This second game had also gone on for nearly two hours. As it drew to a close, the victor remained undecided, leaving Li Yinsheng thoroughly exhilarated by the intense competition. It even made Vice Temple Master Huang look a bit more pleasing to the eye. It was truly a match between well-matched adversaries, a meeting of worthy opponents!

Sitting opposite Li Yinsheng and watching him drop yet another divine move, Vice Temple Master Huang wiped the cold sweat covering his face. He couldn’t take it anymore! He really couldn’t take it anymore! How could there be someone in this world with such abysmal Chess Skill? His moves were worse than a three-year-old child’s!

Vice Temple Master Huang was well aware of his own Chess Skill. Among his regular game-playing friends, his Cultivation could be considered first-rate, but his Chess Skill was only second-rate. But right now, playing against Li Yinsheng, he could only say that if it weren’t for his opponent’s formidable Cultivation, he could beat this kind of Chess Skill twenty times over in two hours! Unfortunately, he couldn’t afford to win.

During the first game, he had racked his brains and exhausted all his effort just to barely maintain the illusion of an evenly matched game for two hours. In the end, unable to bear it any longer, he deliberately left a flaw open and resigned. This flaw wasn’t sold cleverly; anyone who understood the game would have spotted the ruse. The good news was that Li Yinsheng hadn’t noticed a thing. The bad news was that Li Yinsheng had immediately started a second game.

Vice Temple Master Huang felt like he wanted to die. At one point, he even suspected that Li Yinsheng was intentionally faking his abysmal Chess Skill just to toy with and humiliate him. Throughout this second game, he suffered a splitting headache. More than once, he thought about flipping the board and shouting, "Death before dishonor!" to end it all swiftly. But when he thought of Li Yinsheng’s fist—the same fist that could leave dents on an Upper Grade Magical Artifact—he quickly suppressed that heroic impulse and continued playing obediently.

Standing nearby, the White-faced Cultivator poured tea for them. He kept his eyes strictly focused on his own nose and his nose focused on his heart, absolutely not daring to look at the board. He knew a little bit about the game himself, and he was terrified that if he stared at the board, he might accidentally burst out laughing when Li Yinsheng placed a piece. If that happened, he would likely lose a layer of skin, even if he managed to survive.

"Hmm..."

Faced with the complex, evenly matched board, Li Yinsheng frowned deeply, pinching a piece and tapping it lightly against the board. With every tap, the other two men felt their hearts skip a beat.

"Hmm... Vice Temple Master Huang, this move is truly brilliant. I have to think carefully about how to break it," Li Yinsheng said as he tapped his piece.

Vice Temple Master Huang hurriedly replied, "I cannot compare to you, Senior. Please go easy on me. My disciple is still watching, so could you please not let me lose too horribly?"

Li Yinsheng was about to speak when he suddenly looked up, gazing through the hall’s roof toward the distant sky.

"Senior?" Vice Temple Master Huang asked cautiously.

"Vice Temple Master Huang, let’s pause this game for now," Li Yinsheng said with a smile, returning his piece to its bowl.

To Vice Temple Master Huang’s ears, those words were heavenly music. The next sentence was even more heavenly.

"Your other disciple, along with a Fellow Daoist who looks a few years older than you, has come up the mountain. Perhaps they’re here to pay your ransom?"

Moments later, a Talisman Crane landed in front of the main hall.

The Temple Master, who had taken the time to neaten his beard and hair on the way, led Yang respectfully into the hall. To Li Yinsheng’s slight surprise, the other party was extremely agreeable this time. He didn’t demand any extra compensation, as the Qiankun Bags he had seized and the items inside them were already compensation enough.

As for the ransom... The ransom he set for his six captives was 150,000 talismanic coins for Vice Temple Master Huang and 30,000 talismanic coins for each of the other five. Altogether, it came to exactly 300,000 talismanic coins. Giving Junior Sister Mu 200,000 talismanic coins would complete the final tier of her Cultivation Aspiration, leaving 100,000 to cover the fee for Jade Altar Temple’s Spirit Refining Array. He would even have a little left over.

The elderly man who had arrived didn’t haggle at all, accepting the price without a moment’s hesitation. He then indicated that, if Li Yinsheng was willing, they would like to pay to buy back the Magical Artifacts he had confiscated.

Li Yinsheng thought it over. Whether it was the Cold Bright Sword he obtained last time, or the Silver Threaded Magical Robe, the Brass Incense Burner, and the two Netting Magical Artifacts he acquired this time, they were all quite useful to him. He had no intention of selling them. However, the four Middle Grade Magical Artifacts he had previously taken from the group of four, as well as the two Middle Grade Magical Artifacts he had gotten today from the White-faced Cultivator’s Qiankun Bag, were of little use to him.

Therefore, he chose to sell only these six Middle Grade Magical Artifacts. Considering that the other party’s attitude was fairly polite this time, he even offered a slight discount. In the end, as a bundle deal, the six Middle Grade Magical Artifacts sold for a total of 200,000 talismanic coins.

If he had gone to a legitimate shop in Baoguang Temple to sell them, he probably wouldn’t have gotten this price. Shops either refused to accept Magical Artifacts with shady origins, or they severely lowballed the price. If he scattered the six items and set up a street stall to sell them to gullible passersby, the final total might have exceeded 200,000, but that would be far too much of a hassle.

This way, he actually pocketed 500,000 talismanic coins. The elderly man who had come to pay the ransom was quick to hand over the money, but judging by his trembling beard, pulling out so much cash at once was by no means an easy feat for him. Although the total assets of a proper Daoist Temple could easily exceed tens of millions of talismanic coins, actual liquid cash wouldn’t account for much of that. Moreover, Yellow Crane Temple ranked near the bottom among the numerous Daoist Temples and was not affluent to begin with.

After storing the 500,000 talismanic coins into his Qiankun Bag, Li Yinsheng released the four people locked in the woodshed as well.

In front of the main hall, the members of Yellow Crane Temple stood in two rows. The Temple Master and Vice Temple Master of Yellow Crane Temple stood in the front row, while the remaining six stood in the back.

"Thank you for your magnanimity this time, Senior," the Temple Master of Yellow Crane Temple said, bowing deeply.

Even though he had arrived with a lingering sense of resentment, now that he was standing before Li Yinsheng, the Temple Master wasn’t foolish enough to provoke him. His every movement was remarkably polite.

Li Yinsheng nodded and cupped his hands in a casual return salute. He then looked at Vice Temple Master Huang. "Fellow Daoist, are you leaving already?"

Vice Temple Master Huang suddenly felt an extremely ominous premonition in his heart.

"That game should be close to a conclusion," Li Yinsheng said. "I see it’s still early. Why don’t we finish it before you go?"

Vice Temple Master Huang felt his heart stop. He hurriedly shot a frantic glance at his senior brother beside him—he silently begged his senior brother to save him, and to do it quickly!

The Temple Master didn’t quite understand the specific situation, but years of tacit understanding between senior and junior brothers allowed him to instantly realize that his junior brother didn’t want to stay a moment longer. He hurriedly bowed again and pulled out the Crane Egg given to him by Daoist Huang He.

"Senior, this item was personally bestowed by Ancestor Master Huang He of our temple, who ordered me to bring it to you," the Temple Master said. "This egg was laid by our Guardian Spirit Beast, the Yellow Spirit Cranes.

"Although it cannot be hatched, it contains pure and gentle Primordial Energy. Consuming it will be highly beneficial for bolstering Primordial Energy and solidifying one’s foundation.

"Upon learning of our... deplorable conduct, he was furious and thoroughly reprimanded us. He dispatched me to deliver this item as a token of apology."

Hearing "bolstering Primordial Energy and solidifying one’s foundation," Li Yinsheng’s eyes lit up. His own Cultivation had been steadily and solidly built up bit by bit; his foundation was as stable as could be, so he didn’t need it. But Junior Sister Mu was currently at the stage of tempering her Physique and refining her Primordial Energy. This egg couldn’t have come at a better time!

Practicing nearby, Mu Xiaoyu also heard these words. Her punching movements grew a fraction slower as her gaze landed on the Crane Egg, which was two sizes larger than a fist. She wondered if a Spirit Beast’s egg would taste much better than a regular chicken egg.

SLURP...